The Fairest Of Them All by Carolyn Turgeon

Living in an enchanted forest, Rapunzel spends her days tending a mystical garden with her adoptive mother, Mathena. A witch, Mathena was banished from court because of her magic powers, though the women from the kingdom still seek her advice and herbal remedies. She waits, biding her time to exact revenge against those who betrayed her.

One day Rapunzel’s beautiful voice and long golden locks captivate a young prince hunting in the forest nearby. Overcome, he climbs her hair up to her chamber and they fall into each other’s arms. But their afternoon of passion is fleeting, and the prince must return to his kingdom, as he is betrothed to another.

Now king, he marries his intended to bring peace to his kingdom. They have a stunning daughter named Snow White. Yet the king is haunted by his memories of Rapunzel, and after the mysterious death of his wife, realizes he is free to marry the woman he never stopped longing for. In hopes of also replacing the mother of his beloved daughter, the king makes Rapunzel his queen.

But when Mathena’s wedding gift of an ancient mirror begins speaking to her, Rapunzel falls under its evil spell, and the king begins to realize that Rapunzel is not the beautiful, kind woman he dreamed of.

The Fairest Of Them All is a twist on the fairy tales, Rapunzel and Snow White.

This book was beautifully written. The text was so descriptive, it dripped with emotion and colour. It was harsh though so it made the scenes really raw and dark. The imagery was truly magnificent.

I liked Rapunzel however her vanity wasn’t very nice or attractive as a character and I couldn’t love her because of this. I really liked Marentha although I couldn’t justify her actions. I was torn about Josef. I felt mostly sorry for him because of the enchantment. Snow White I loved and then I disliked and then I was indifferent. The characters were made alive in the story from the way it was written so whether you loved or hated them, it didn’t matter so much.

The story had some slight sex in it however very brief and it wasn’t written like a romance novel. There were also descriptions of people’s bodies but again not like a romance novel. It was written in the style of the rest of the book.

The book is quite vivid and even though the storyline is enjoyable, it is quite dark especially the imagery that is evoked. It is definitely not lighthearted. It is very full of emotion.

I liked the twist on the classic fairy tales and how they were intertwined. I won’t say anything more so as not to ruin it.

Overall I wouldn’t say I enjoyed the book as it wasn’t what I would call enjoyable. It was well written and the imagery was fantastic however it was also dark and explored a lot of different emotions. It is definitely worth a read if you like fairy tales or vivid imagery.